Zelensky sheds details on meeting with Vance, Rubio in Rome after Russia peace talks stall
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy in Rome Sunday for ongoing peace talks as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues. “During our talks we discussed negotiations in Istanbul to where the Russians sent a low-level delegation of non-decision-makers. I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy shared on X of the meeting. “We have also touched upon the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, battlefield situation and upcoming prisoners exchange. Pressure is needed against Russia until they are eager to stop the war. And, of course, we talked about our joint steps to achieve a just and durable peace,” he continued. ZELENSKYY SPEAKS WITH TRUMP, ALLIES AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS BROKER NO CEASEFIRE World leaders converged in Rome this weekend for Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass at the Vatican on Sunday, with Vance leading the U.S. delegation. Zelenskyy also attended the mass. The meeting comes after Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first direct peace talks in years last week in Istanbul. The two sides, however, failed to reach a ceasefire agreement for a war that has raged since February of 2022. Hours after the meeting, a Russian drone strike hit a passenger bus in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday. TRUMP SAYS PUTIN IS ‘TIRED’ OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR Russia and Ukraine did agree to a large prisoner swap during the meeting last week, despite not reaching a ceasefire. President Donald Trump said on Friday, during his four-day tour of the Middle East, that he wants to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war “as soon as we can set it up.” Trump added in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he will speak to Putin by phone on Monday, which will be followed by another call to Zelenskyy and NATO leaders as the U.S. continues to work to broker a peace deal between the two nations as negotiations drag. TRUMP, AFTER SKIPPING RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS, WANTS TO MEET PUTIN ‘AS SOON AS WE CAN SET IT UP’ “I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M. THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Saturday. “HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END,” Trump said. “GOD BLESS US ALL!!!” Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Republicans ready late-night session on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ after GOP mutiny
House lawmakers are being summoned to Capitol Hill late Sunday night as Republicans’ self-imposed deadline to pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” looms just days away. The House Budget Committee is meeting at 10 p.m. for a vote on advancing the wide-ranging legislation toward a chamber-wide vote later this week. Initial plans to advance the bill on Friday morning were upended in a mutiny by four members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus – Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., all joined Democrats in voting against the bill. The fiscal hawks are opposed to aspects of the legislation’s crackdown on Medicaid, which Republicans have said they are only trimming for waste, fraud, and abuse. But Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied people are not set to kick in until 2029, and conservatives have argued that it was a large window of time for those changes to be undone, among other concerns. ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION They’re also pushing for a more aggressive effort to repeal green energy tax subsidies passed in the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). That push has pitted them against Republican lawmakers whose districts have businesses that have benefited from the tax relief. Meanwhile House GOP leaders and the White House have held the bill up as the most significant fiscal reform in decades. Holdouts were expected to negotiate with GOP leaders in Congress and the White House through the weekend. “I really need to see something in writing. You know, we’ve talked enough. They know where we are. And you know, before, if it’s just if it’s the same old thing, that we can’t get [a majority], we’re going to have to pretty much stick with what we have, I’ve got a problem,” Norman told Fox News Digital on Sunday morning He said he and other critics of the legislation were asked to meet with House GOP leaders at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY Republicans are working to pass Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party controlling both Congress and the White House to pass vast pieces of legislation while completely sidelining the minority – in this case, Democrats. It does so by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, lining up with the House’s own simple majority. The legislation must adhere to a specific set of rules, however, including only items related to federal spending, tax, and the national debt. Both the House and Senate are dealing with razor-thin margins. That extends to the House Budget Committee as well, where Republicans can only lose two of their own to still advance the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was confident that Republicans could overcome their differences and stick to their timeline during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. “The plan is to move it to the Rules Committee by midweek, and to the House floor by the end of the week, as we meet our initial, our original Memorial Day deadline,” Johnson said. Johnson said Republicans also “have got to compromise” on Medicaid work requirements, adding he was in contact with states “to make sure what the earliest possible date is.” “This is the biggest spending reduction in three decades, maybe longer,” Johnson said. Norman signaled that significant compromise was going to have to be made on leaders’ parts. “Let’s say they want it to kick in, in a year or six months. It ought to be now, but we’ll look at that. We’re not inflexible,” he said. “But the main thing I want to relay, this isn’t the end-all-catch-all-be-all. Nobody would disagree that the tax cuts are good policy, and nobody would disagree with President Trump’s wanting to phase out Green New Deal scam credits. Anyone we want to do it on day one. So we’re carrying out his policies.” Meanwhile Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, a close ally of Roy’s, took to X in support of the bill after it failed Friday. “Critics have attacked the House’s One Big Beautiful reconciliation bill on fiscal grounds, but I think they are profoundly wrong. It is truly historic,” Vought said. “The bill satisfies the very red-line test that House fiscal hawks laid out a few weeks ago that stated that the cost of any tax cut could be paid for with $2.5 trillion in assumed economic growth, but the rest had to be covered with savings from reform.” Trump blasted the people holding up the legislation as grandstanders in a Truth Social post Friday. Those rebels and their allies, however, have argued that they are only pushing to fully enact Trump’s agenda. “He campaigned on cutting the Green New Deal. But it’s really a scam…. But this bill to postpone phase-out for seven years, it’s just money we don’t have,” Norman said. Economic Policy Innovation Center founder Paul Winfree wrote on X Saturday, “Several of the Members of Congress negotiating on the OBBB this weekend are trying to make it even better. In fact, there is a significant group that has been fighting all along to make sure that [Trump] gets the biggest win possible.” Moving ahead with Sunday night’s vote is a sign of confidence by House GOP leaders, but it’s not yet clear how it will play out. In addition to the Medicaid and IRA differences, Republicans must also reconcile current disagreements with blue state GOP lawmakers over State and Local tax (SALT) deduction caps. The legislation raised the current $10,000 cap to $30,000, but a handful of blue state Republicans rejected the compromise as insufficient. Meanwhile, conservatives in redder districts are demanding deeper pay cuts if the SALT deduction cap was raised. SALT Caucus member Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., suggested raising taxes on the highest earners to offset the cost – it would likely be an uphill battle to
Trump’s idea to make Americans have babies again gets mixed reviews from experts
President Donald Trump called himself the “fertilization president” during Women’s History Month, but some experts cited claims that “baby bonuses,” such as the $5,000 plan Trump floated, have been tried in the past and had mixed results. Singapore, Hungary and Australia are three examples of countries where such programs have been instituted. Singapore has been subsidizing parenthood for decades, with the latest endowment per child reaching S$ 11,000 (US $8,000) as of 2023, but the tiny Asian nation still has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Gabriella Hoffman, an official at the Independent Women’s Forum, wrote on social media that baby bonuses did not work in Hungary. DNC VICE CHAIR SLAMS TRUMP AS ‘PUNK’, WOULD-BE DICTATOR AT FIERY PA TOWN HALL “Why would we replicate this here?” she asked. That country, led by Trump-favored President Viktor Orban, also incentivizes its residents to have more kids, including through tax breaks for families with three or more offspring. Hungary’s birth rate rose slightly about a decade ago but returned to and remains close to one. Australia’s program began in 2004 and indexed to inflation in 2008 what was then an A$ 5,000 (US $3,180) for parents per birth. The government’s self-reported birthrate statistic was about 1.5 as of 2023. Paula Lantz, a social demographer from the University of Michigan, told the Guardian that in the U.S., the percentage of families having more than one child has dropped and that “there is something else going on” – including non-financial considerations like quality of life effects. An official at the liberal Center for American Progress told the outlet she had a child a few months ago and that the promised $5,000 credit “wouldn’t do much” even with good insurance and paid occupational family leave. OBAMA SLAMS PRO-TRUMP MEN AT PHILADELPHIA RALLY WHILE SPRINGSTEEN WARNS GOP NOMINEE IS ‘AN AMERICAN TYRANT’ Andrea Ippolito, founder of maternal health tech platform SimpliFed, told Fox News Digital that while the $5,000 is a “nice boost,” the initiative “just lightly scratches the surface of the support that is needed for families, especially in the early years with childcare and healthcare support that is largely missing from the postpartum care experience.” “In order to increase the birth rate, much more is needed to support and ensure that both mom and baby’s health is prioritized,” Ippolito said. “That means both physical health needs (which are not right now as demonstrated with doubling the preeclampsia rate doubling) and mental health needs.” On the other hand, Emily and Nathan Berning – co-founders of crisis-pregnancy support site LetThemLive.org, said that the baby bonus touted by Trump “is a positive step, but it doesn’t go far enough.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Financial aid after delivery is helpful, but the real need is stability throughout pregnancy—rent, food, counseling, and emotional support,” the Bernings said. “If we want to raise birthrates and protect children, we must act earlier and ensure no woman feels forced into a decision out of fear or isolation.” They touted the benefits of pregnancy clinics that are founded by both pro-life and pro-choice advocates, saying that is how to prioritize “compassion over politics.” Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced a proposal for the feds to provide $1,000 in an account for each American child. The “Invest America Act” would create “a private tax-advantaged account,” and Cruz said in a statement last week the investments can be placed in a broad, low-cost fund that tracks the S&P 500, growing tax-deferred until the individual reaches age 18. Distributions after age 18 would be taxed at the capital gains rate. Fox News Digital reached out to Cruz for any comment on claims from critics that past iterations of the accounts have not been successful. Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House for comment on criticisms.
CJI BR Gavai issues BIG statement days after taking oath, says ‘Constitution of India…’
Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Sunday stressed that neither the judiciary nor the executive, but the Constitution of India was supreme and its pillars must work together. Justice Gavai took oath as the 52nd CJI earlier this week.
Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad? Ashoka University professor, grandson of last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad, arrested over remarks on Op Sindoor
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associated professor at Ashoka University, was arrested on Sunday, i.e., May 17, over his controversial remarks on social media about ‘Operation Sindoor’ – the recent Indian military strikes in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
Teen stabbed to death after dispute over playing music at event in Delhi, probe underway
An 18-year-old boy was stabbed to death during a scuffle reportedly triggered by a dispute over playing music at an event in Delhi, police said on Sunday, i.e., May 18.
Man harassed by Pakistani roommates in Dubai rescued, reunited with family: ‘If India stops water from flowing into Pakistan…’
A man from Uttarakhand, who was reportedly lured to Dubai with a job offer, has been rescued and reunited with the family, the police said. During his stay in Dubai, he revealed, his Pakistani roommates harassed him and denied access to water.
WH study warns 9 million Americans could lose health insurance in ‘major’ recession if Trump budget bill fails
The White House on Saturday released a study estimating that 8.2 to 9.2 million more Americans could be without health insurance as a result of an ensuing recession if President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” on the budget does not pass. The finding comes from a White House Council of Economic Advisers memo titled, “Health Insurance Opportunity Cost if 2025 Proposed Budget Reconciliation Bill Does Not Pass.” The research assumes that the U.S. had approximately 27 million uninsured people in 2025. If the budget bill does not pass, that could increase to approximately 36 million uninsured people, far closer to the approximately 50 million people who were uninsured before the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, in 2010, according to the memo. ‘FAILURE’S NOT AN OPTION’: TRUMP BUDGET BILL WILL BE ‘BIG’ HELP FOR SENIORS, TOP HOUSE TAX-WRITER SAYS The memo says the estimate is “based on the assumption that states which expanded Medicaid with relatively generous eligibility will pull back to meet balanced budget requirements and try to provide more unemployment support during a severe recession.” It also qualifies its conclusions by saying the analysis assumes “no policy countermeasures,” which the White House describes as a “very unlikely but plausible worse case” scenario. The White House projects that the expiration of the 2017 Trump tax cuts in 2026 and other shocks would trigger a “moderate to severe recession.” The economic advisers report that a “major recession” would result in reduced consumer spending as a result of higher individual taxes, lower small business investment and hiring as a result higher pass-through individual taxes, global confidence shock including concerns about U.S. competitiveness, and dollar deflation tightening credit and pushing real interest rates higher. GOP REBEL MUTINY THREATENS TO DERAIL TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ BEFORE KEY COMMITTEE HURDLE According to the advisers’ “upper bound” estimate of the impact of not extending the Trump tax cuts, U.S. GDP could contract by approximately 4% over two years – similar to the 2008 recession. Unemployment could increase by four percentage points, resulting in approximately 6.5 million job losses. Of those 6.5 million job losses, 60% had employer-sponsored insurance, so the White House projects approximately 3.9 million people would lose coverage and become uninsured as a result. The memo also anticipates a loss of individual and marketplace coverage, as those already without employer-sponsored insurance are no longer able to afford to purchase insurance themselves. The White House expects a 15% drop from approximately 22 million enrolled in 2026 to approximately 3.3 million losing coverage. Without the passage of the “big, beautiful bill,” Medicaid and ACA subsidized plan enrollment could experience 10% enrollment frictions, resulting in approximately 500,000 to 1 million people losing or failing to gain coverage, the memo states. The expiration of the 2017 Trump tax cuts would disproportionately affect non-citizens, gig workers and early retirees, according to the White House. The advisers assess that individuals in those working classes without employer-sponsored insurance would no longer be able to afford coverage as a result of a recession, leading to 500,000 to 1 million insurance losses among “vulnerable segments.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is laboring to get the “One Big Beautiful Act” through the House by a self-imposed Memorial Day deadline despite divisions among Republicans, who maintain control of the lower chamber by a razor-thin margin. The 1,116-page bill includes more than $5 trillion in tax cuts, costs that are partially offset by spending cuts elsewhere and other changes in the tax code, and would make permanent the tax cuts from Trump’s first term. It also realizes many of Trump‘s campaign promises, including temporarily ending taxes on overtime and tips for many workers, creating a new $10,000 tax break on auto loan interest for American-made cars, and even creating a new tax-free “MAGA account” that would contribute $1,000 to children born in his second term. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump-aligned legal group fights to restore merit-based federal hiring
FIRST ON FOX — A legal group closely aligned with President Donald Trump is joining a federal court battle in Washington, D.C., to overturn a Carter-era consent decree that bars the government from using merit-based hiring, a resolution that, if overturned, would dissolve one of the most influential civil service decisions of the last 40 years. The America First Legal Foundation (AFL), a group aligned with Trump, has filed a federal complaint in Washington, D.C., that aims to dismantle what it calls a dated and illegal effort to promote diversity in federal hiring that sidelines more qualified candidates. “America is missing out on top talent because of an illegal, 44-year-old consent decree,” Nick Barry, senior counsel at AFL, told Fox News Digital. “We must move back to merit-based evaluations. Race and other immutable traits have no place in that process.” JUDGE ON WARPATH PRESSES TRUMP DOJ ON ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION, ANSWERS LEAVE COURTROOM IN STUNNED SILENCE The lawsuit targets the Luevano consent decree, an agreement that Black and Hispanic plaintiffs struck with the government under President Jimmy Carter in 1981. The settlement ended merit-based hiring practices for federal government agencies and required written tests to be replaced with alternative assessments. Critics of these alternative assessments, including AFL and the firm Boyden Gray, PLLC, which joined the complaint, argue they are clunky and outdated solutions that illegally promote an unfair system of race-based hiring. “We must move back to merit-based evaluations,” Barry added. “Race, color and other immutable characteristics have no place in that evaluation.” The Office of Personnel Management had previously asked the court to end the Carter-era system, an effort that AFL and Boyden Gray now join, arguing it violates Supreme Court precedent. “Being able to recruit the best and brightest to work in Washington returns dividends for the country by doing more with less,” AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. “That is what all Americans deserve from their government.” AFL’s backing could bring new momentum to OPM’s attempt to end these hiring practices in the federal government. But it’s also likely to be met with a fair degree of criticism. Though efforts to end or replace the 40-year-old alternative assessment systems aren’t exactly radical, the filing comes as the Trump administration continues to clash with government employees over agency budget cuts and workforce reductions. The case, if heard in court, could reignite debate across the country over race-conscious hiring practices. 100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT America First Legal, though not officially part of the Trump administration, was founded by longtime Trump advisor Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s most vocal advocates for tougher immigration enforcement, dismantling DEI programs and ending affirmative action in public education. Miller stepped down from AFL before rejoining the White House in 2025. The effort also comes at a time when many federal agencies have struggled to cope with a massive loss of personnel and institutional knowledge due to funding cuts and other orders from DOGE, the quasi-government efficiency agency headed up by billionaire Elon Musk. Still, AFL sees its effort as supporting OPM and ending what it argues is a virtually “impossible” standard to create a broadly used merit-based civil service exam. “Public service is a public trust,” Epstein said. “Presidential administrations from both parties have long advocated ending unaccountable bureaucracies that fail to do a good turn for the American people.” Neither OPM nor the White House immediately responded to Fox News’s request for comment on the new court filing or on their views on the existing hiring practices.
Arrested YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra’s father claims she had friends in Pakistan, Hisar police makes SHOCKING revelation: ‘Before Pahalgam…’
Haris Malhotra, the father of arrested Haryana-based travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra, has claimed that his daughter had friends in Pakistan and questioned why she could not call them if she wished to do so.